NHL Rumors II: Flames and Predators

“It stalls a lot of things,” Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving said after completing the NHL Draft. “You look at the number of signings, the lack of signings, of players that are their own free agents. I would assume those teams that want players back have made offers, and now everybody’s waiting. I don’t necessarily know if the market is being driven by it, but it’s slowing the market, without question.”

“It’s sort of like the stars are aligning here. I think this free-agent courting period has given people pause, not only to see what’s out there and what those terms might be, but also stalling getting their own people done because they’re out looking,” Treliving said.

“I said it coming in here that not everything’s going to happen in the next two days, but we’re going to still see some business and some deals getting done leading up to July 1.”

The Flames could use some help on the blueline and a backup goaltender. They may need some help up front if Mike Cammalleri leaves. Free agent options in net could include: Ryan Miller, Jonas Hiller, Ray Emery, Chad Johnson, Anders Lindback and Thomas Greiss. Cam Ward could be an option in the trade market.

“I’m not set in stone there,” Treliving said of what direction he’d prefer to take. “That may be something you look for in free agency. That may be something that still comes in the trade market. We’ve done a lot of work and we’ll see how it falls.

“It’s an interesting market for goaltenders. You have to find goaltenders that you like, but there’s options out there.”

Josh Cooper of the Tennessean: Predators GM David Poile said that defenseman Michael Del Zotto is “not a fit” for them. Options for him include a trade, sign a contract extension or not qualifying him, making him a UFA.

“Del Zotto is a good player. He’s a good offensive player. He couldn’t get ahead of (Roman) Josi, (Shea) Weber, (Seth) Jones and (Ryan) Ellis in the offensive situations,” Poile said Sunday. “We have all these balls in the air. We’ll see what happens.”

The Predators also have a group of young defenseman in their system. Del Zotto does have potential and is likely to get some interest in the trade market.